Granada Hills Rolls Past Bell to Win 3-A Title

Granada Hills Coach Tom Harp was concerned that his team might be overconfident going into Friday night’s City Section 3-A volleyball championship game against Bell.

Granada Hills, the defending 3-A champion, had fully expected to see Mid-Valley co-champion Reseda on the other side of the net at Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse. Bell, the City League champion, came in as an unknown quantity after knocking out Reseda in the semifinal.

But instead of cockiness, the Highlanders demonstrated nothing but proficiency in a 15-5, 15-12, 11-15, 15-5 victory.

“This was one of our toughest matches in two years,” Granada Hills Coach Tom Harp said. “They made it tough because they very rarely gave up more than one point in a row.”

In the first game, however, Bell (13-2) jumped out to a 3-0 lead before giving up 12 consecutive points.

Albert Vicencio served Bell to its short-lived lead before Granada Hills came storming back behind the serving of senior Min Chung and the hitting of sophomore Sam Goldman, who had 13 kills in the match. The Highlanders cruised to a 15-5 win.

Granada Hills (15-1) trailed, 7-1, in the second game before mounting a gradual comeback. Goldman tied it with a kill before the teams traded nine sideouts.

Goldman came back to give Granada Hills a two-game lead with a pair of spikes that Bell was unable to return.

Bell won the third game by returning everything Goldman and senior hitter Terry Schrumpf blasted over the net. Bell’s John Toilolo served four straight points to break an 11-11 tie and give his team its only win.

“We realized at that point that we had to hold the title,” said Schrumpf, who had 16 kills. “They just kept digging everything and getting it back over. We took control in the next game.”

The final game was won in methodical fashion with Schrumpf and junior hitter Ben Itkin leading the way.

“I am very, very proud of this team,” said Harp, whose team included four first-year players and just one returning player from last year’s team. “This team proved a lot tonight.”